Top draft pick survives his first cut as a pro
And with his hair taken care of, Liljegren will focus on improving defensive play
Timothy Liljegren has more Twitter followers and shorter hair, but other than that, his life has not changed that much since being chosen in the first round two weeks ago by the Maple Leafs in the NHL draft.
“I cut my hair Tuesday,” said Liljegren, smiling “New haircut. Feels good.”
The short hair is a team policy, per GM Lou Lamoriello. The Twitter following is a side effect of being one of the top prospects in the Leafs organization.
But really what matters is hockey, and Liljegren found himself on the ice Friday wearing Maple Leaf colours for the first time, part of the team’s 57-player development camp that runs until Wednesday.
“I’m just trying to learn as much as possible from the coaches,” Liljegren said, “both off the ice, and on the ice.”
Things started Thursday with medicals, a team dinner and an introduc- tion to what it means to be a Leaf. “It’s so professional, more professional than I’m used to. Everyone is so nice.”
Liljegren is a smooth-skating defenceman with elite puck-moving ability, but he’s aware of what he has to work on.
“My defensive play, my defensive ability, to be better on that part,” he said. “I’m going to do my best this year.
“But one more year to develop. Where that will be, I’m not sure. But one more year before the NHL.”
The Niagara IceDogs own Lilje- gren’s major junior rights, but his agent has already said he won’t play there. It sounds like he’ll play in Europe, specifically Sweden, where he has one more year left on his contract with Rogle BK, but sometimes other arrangements can be made.
“He has a valid contract for one more year in the SHL (Swedish Hockey League),” said Liljegren’s agent, Peter Wallen. “The Leafs have not offered him a contract. I think they want to see what he’s like in development camp and go from there.
“If they like what they see, maybe they will make an offer.”
For Liljegren to play somewhere other than Rogle this season, the Leafs would have to secure his release through the agreements the NHL has with the Swedish federation and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Liljegren missed a large chunk of last season with mono, and probably came back from the illness too early. He had been forecast as a top five pick when the 2016-17 season began, but dropped to the point where the Leafs picked him 17th overall. He hopes an ailment-free year will help.
“It’s nice to be healthy to prepare for your season,” he said. “Last year with the mono, it was a rough start.”
There are two distinct groups at this camp: the top prospects and draft picks, like Liljegren, Jeremy Bracco and Adam Brooks; and the free-agent invitees, who had more of a proper practice Friday under Scott Pellerin, the organization’s player development coach.
Pellerin noted that when free agents came to the camp in the past, mixed in with the top prospects, they didn’t get the one-on-one time they might have benefitted from. Now the team can get a better read on free agents in their unique group.
“They can show what they can do. This will give them a much better opportunity,” Pellerin said.
Most of the free agents are hoping to land jobs in the Leafs’ farm system, either with the Marlies of the AHL, or the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.
The players were to take in a Blue Jays game Friday night.
The camp will also include media training, social media awareness, and education on nutrition, strength and training.